Happy New Year!

Well, after an oddly warm end to 2015, it’s suddenly the sort of temperature that feels ‘normal’ for early January. We’ve even had snow…

… and very beautiful it was too. This scene is on the walk round the wonderfully-named Glenmidge, just a mile away. We’ve been much more fortunate than others during the recent floodings and were happy to find that our guests kept coming right through Christmas and Hogmanay, despite the awful predictions of the weather forecasters.

Steve’s wildlife cameras are coming into their own now, with almost daily (that should really be ‘nightly’) sightings of barn owls. We’ve even seen two at a time. Fingers crossed that they get on, and subsequently provide us with adventurous offspring looking for self-catering accommodation – the barn is amply equipped for baby barn owls and their doting parents!

Other interesting sightings include the following:- a ring-necked duck at Caerlaverock; a huge flock of about 140 twite just up the lane (being dive-bombed unsuccessfully by a frustrated sparrowhawk); several cowslips in ridiculously early flower; 3 red squirrels simultaneously in the garden; two deer just outside the back of the cottages. Most exciting of all, we’ve seen blue sky and sunshine, just when we thought every type of weather had been exhausted!

Many thanks to all our guests who kindly sent Christmas cards – lovely to get news from around the world. Enjoy 2016. I’ll keep you posted on news from McM.